(Closed) Budget Friendly Wedding in Sonoma/Napa

Hi. We are hoping to get married in Sonoma and/or Napa this fall. We are from Oklahoma so not familiar with the area. I have been researching venues for the last month and can’t seem to find anywhere for a ceremony and reception within our budget. I would ideally like to get married overlooking vineyards/outside views and spend around $25,000-30,000. (feel bad if all of my Okie guests fly all the way to Napa and it’s indoors) We are expecting to have around 120-150 guests. Any suggstions are much appreciated!

@acpayne: When I saw your post I was worried you were going to have a lower budget than that! We live pretty close and searched all over Napa and Sonoma and couldn’t find anything in our budget, which is less than half of yours! But I did get the chance to see quite a few places.

Sonoma is beautiful and a little less expensive, but if your guests are flying in, napa is much closer to the airports. Napa passed a law many over 30 years ago against wineries having weddings so it can be hard to find a spot. Only places that had the docs to do it before that law can have them And they know they can charge a lot.

As far as cost, it all depends on where you want your money to go. We found rentals anywhere from $4,000-$15,000 depending on the size & time of year. One place that was only $4,000 in the off season asked us to only use their preferred caterers which started at $100 per person! There was just no way we could afford that with over 200 guests! But I would imagine if you’re out of state, your guest list will be smaller and I would check it out. It’s a pretty amazing place called cornerstone. It’s in Sonoma but not as deep as some of the other locations. I believe their summer fee is about $10,000 + catering, etc. http://www.cornerstonegardens.com/.

Brix is a restaurant with the most beautiful garden set in the middle of fields of vineyards and has incredible food! http://www.brix.com/privatedining/weddings/ Considering what they offer I think their prices are great. It was just too small for us.

Also, in Sonoma county, just outside of Healdsburg, we really liked Soda Rock winery, but the caterer fee was a little high for us especially paired with the fact that many of our guests would have to drive over two hours to get there. Their location fee was pretty low. http://www.sodarockwinery.com/. Sodarock is part of the Wilson wineries which has some other venues that were nice, just too small for us.

I hope that helps or at least gives you some leads or ideas. We are frequent napa & Sonoma visitors since we live so close and are big wine fans. Let me know if you have any other questions about the area!

Amayansong- You are so very helpful! I’ve looked at a few of those vineyards and like them. I should have specified that I want to spend $25,000-30,000 TOTAL. I inquired at the Atwood Ranch and the wedding planner quoted me $120,000 for a 150 person wedding!!! Crazy! (she said that no less than $80,000 for a wedding is realistic at an estate or vineyard for 120 even??) Do you agree? We would love to stick around Healdsburg/Sonoma if all possible. We are getting married on a Friday so our guests can do as they please on Saturday and let us “early 30 year olds” (and fun adults) go for a fun wine tour. (don’t want to be a bloated bride, therefore, decided to forego the wine tour before the wedding. Mind you I am a wino and 4 tastings wouldn’t cut it. Lol) Please advise if you have any suggestions. Thanks again for your help!!

Yeah, she’s a little high, but its definitely possible to spend that much. I was really into the idea of doing it at this rental house http://www.estateweddingsandevents.com/venue/sebastopol-sanctuary/. It is so gorgeous and private and other than the location fee, you can do whatever you want, like bring your own wine, food, etc. So it saves a lot of money in the long run. We ended up going that route ourselves closer to home, and at this point I would definitely recommend getting a planner if you go that route. I can’t imagine all that planning and not being local! At this place, I believe you have to get it for 2 or 3 nights minimum, but you’d need a place to stay anyway, right? I believe the cap here is 120.

so if you want to stay in Sonoma county, look at places Healdsburg. It’s a beautiful part of Sonoma with some of the best wineries.

PS- Just viewed your other posts! Such a pretty bride you will be!!!! And in Texas! Now I want to get married at home in Oklahoma again! Geez. LOL. I actually had my wedding planned here, (OKC) got my beautiful Monique gown and veil then freaked out about the guest list. 400 person wedding. Eek. With that said, please keep sending me ideas for Sonoma weddings!

Were you talking to me about TX? I am actually getting married here in CA, but my sister is TX and I go there a lot so may have mentioned it.

That’s too bad about the sebastopol place. I’m glad I didn’t book my wedding there, could you imagine!!? That would have been terrible!

Are you set on your august date? I know some places are less expensive during the off season which can still be nice. There’s also ramekins at the culinary school. They are not in a vineyard but are right by other vineyards. It’s really nice & they were really good at working with us on price. After doing all my own planning, I really wish I went that route because they were pretty much all inclusive. I think it’s just ramekins.com

Also, if you find any places on your own, let me know and I can tell you if I’ve been there or maybe even make an excuse to go out there 😉

I’m from this area and views of vineyards are not limited to Sonoma and Napa. You can find places in Santa Rosa, Petaluma, Yountville, Sebastepol, Geyserville, St. Helena, Calistoga, Kenwood… Hope this helps, but wineries in general are not budget friendly. Best value is a country club or hotels.

^^ as PP said, Oakmont is a hell of a deal. I’m getting married there in July. It’s costing just over $9000 for 120 people for cocktail hour with appetizers /dinner and full hosted bar for 5 hours. It’s an indoor outdoor facility, but if you want grape vines you might want to look elsewhere.

Another place to look, if you are open to places outside of Napa and Sonoma, is Livermore Valley wineries. They actually have a really nice valley and it’s significantly cheaper than Napa since it is somewhat smaller and newer. Still plenty of wineries if you want to do a wine tour or something the day after! Check out Murrietta’s Well (my dream venue, but only holds up to 150), Garre and Rios Lovell!

Thank you all for the recommendations! I will most definitely look into all of these venues. Please keep the suggestions coming as I need to book tours asap. Also, please inquire if you have any recommendations of a wedding coordinator. I don’t need full time, just partial time. The ones I have spoke to are charging around $4,000 which is a bit high in my opinion. (however I live in Oklahoma, that might be the norm?) Thanks again for your help!